What
kind of brain do you have? There really are big differences between
the male and female brain, says Simon Baron-Cohen, director of the Autism
Research Centre, Cambridge University. In his new book, the Essential
Difference: Men, Women and the Extreme Male Brain (published by
Penguin) Baron-Cohen shows that, indisputably, on average male and female minds
are of a slightly different character. Men tend to be better at analysing
systems (better systemisers), while women tend to be better at reading
the emotions of other people (better empathisers). Baron-Cohen shows
that this distinction arises from biology, not culture.

Cell numbers:men
have 4% more brain cells than women, and about 100 grams more of brain
tissue. Many women have asked me why men need more brain tissue in order
to get the same things done.

Cellular connections: even
though a man seems to have more brain cells, it is reported that women
have more dendritic connections between brain cells. Corpus
collosum size:it
is reported that a woman's brain has a larger corpus collusum, which means
women can transfer data between the right and left hemisphere faster than
men. Men tend to be more left brained, while women have greater access
to both sides.

Language:for
men, language is most often just in the dominant hemisphere (usually the
left side), but a larger number of women seem to be able to use both sides
for language. This gives them a distinct advantage. If a woman has a stroke
in the left front side of the brain, she may still retain some language
from the right front side. Men who have the same left sided damage are
less likely to recover as fully.Limbic size:bonding/nesting
instincts - current research has demonstrated that females, on average,
have a larger deep limbic system than males. This gives females several
advantages and disadvantages. Due to the larger deep limbic brain women
are more in touch with their feelings, they are generally better able
to express their feelings than men. They have an increased ability to
bond and be connected to others (which is why women are the primary caretakers
for children - there is no society on earth where men are primary caretakers
for children). Females have a more acute sense of smell, which is likely
to have developed from an evolutionary need for the mother to recognize
her young. Having a larger deep limbic system leaves a female somewhat
more susceptible to depression, especially at times of significant hormonal
changes such as the onset of puberty, before menses, after the birth of
a child and at menopause. Women attempt suicide three times more than
men. Yet, men kill themselves three times more than women, in part, because
they use more violent means of killing themselves (women tend to use overdoses
with pills while men tend to either shoot or hang themselves) and men
are generally less connected to others than are women. Disconnection from
others increases the risk of completed suicides.